A Song for Valentina

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 December 2024

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kate Adie presents stories from Russia, Mayotte, Liechtenstein and France.

BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg is regarded as a 'propagandist' by some Russians, but a song he wrote about a Russian friend seemed to thaw the ice, and unexpectedly struck a chord with fellow Muscovites.

France held a day of national mourning this week in tribute to those who died after Cyclone Chido devasted the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte earlier this month, bringing winds of up to 160 miles per hour. Mayotte was already France’s most impoverished territory, but the storm, which was the worst to hit the archipelago in 90 years, flattened areas where many people live in shacks, leaving behind fields of dirt and debris. Mayeni Jones describes the challenges of trying to reach the island when she was deployed there.

Liechtenstein lays claim to being one of the worst football teams in the world. It was recently on a 40-game losing streak, until it recently faced Hong Kong on its home turf. Jacob Panons - a loyal supporter of the Hong Kong team - witnessed the stand-off between the two minnows.

Thanks to his Christmas stories, Charles Dickens is often associated with this time of year. But our Paris correspondent, Hugh Schofield, has come to discover more about another passion in the Victorian novelist’s life – his love of France.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello.
0:01.0	BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts.
0:05.0	Hello.
0:06.0	Today we're in the French territory of Mayotte, off Africa's East Coast, which was devastated
0:12.2	by a cyclone a few weeks ago and where the rescue effort continues.
0:17.6	Hong Kong is not exactly known for its footballing prowess, but that doesn't matter to its
0:23.1	diehard fans. We join them in the stands for their first ever European fixture against
0:29.1	another sporting minnow Leichtenstein. And we're in France, where we hear about the affection
0:35.8	Charles Dickens felt for the country and its people,
0:39.4	and his comparative disdain for his own country.
0:43.6	But first to Russia, a country Steve Rosenberg has been reporting on for decades.
0:49.8	Over the past few years, he's been following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine from Moscow,
0:55.2	where he's frequently encountered the indifference among everyday Russians
0:59.3	to what was unfolding on the other side of the border.
1:03.3	But this year, the war came to Russia, with Ukraine making incursions into Belgorod and Kusk.
1:10.5	These surprised developments, along with the assassination of the Kremlin's with Ukraine making incursions into Belgorod and Kursk.
1:17.3	These surprise developments, along with the assassination of the Kremlin's chemical weapons chief earlier this month,
1:21.2	has challenged the view that Moscow is fully in control.
1:27.4	As Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg has faced the threat of censorship and intimidation,
1:31.9	and is frequently painted by the authorities as a propagandist.
1:36.2	But amid the tension, he can still spot signs of hope. And here he reflects on how a piece of music, he wrote,
1:40.5	inspired by his friendship with a Russian newspaper vendor,
	...

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